Ch 18: Post-War and the Cold War: Help and Review
About This Chapter
Who's it for?
Anyone who needs help learning or mastering middle school US history will benefit from taking this course. You will be able to grasp the subject matter faster, retain critical knowledge longer and earn better grades. You're in the right place if you:
- Have fallen behind in understanding McCarthyism or the Cold War in America
- Need an efficient way to learn about post-war America and the Cold War
- Learn best with engaging auditory and visual tools
- Struggle with learning disabilities or learning differences, including autism and ADHD
- Experience difficulty understanding your teachers
- Missed class time and need to catch up
- Can't access extra US history learning resources at school
How it works:
- Start at the beginning, or identify the topics that you need help with.
- Watch and learn from fun videos, reviewing as needed.
- Refer to the video transcripts to reinforce your learning.
- Test your understanding of each lesson with short quizzes.
- Submit questions to one of our instructors for personalized support if you need extra help.
- Verify you're ready by completing the Post-War and the Cold War chapter exam.
Why it works:
- Study Efficiently: Skip what you know, review what you don't.
- Retain What You Learn: Engaging animations and real-life examples make topics easy to grasp.
- Be Ready on Test Day: Use the Post-War and the Cold War chapter exam to be prepared.
- Get Extra Support: Ask our subject-matter experts any post-war or Cold War question. They're here to help!
- Study With Flexibility: Watch videos on any web-ready device.
Students will review:
In this chapter, you'll learn the answer to questions including:
- What did American politics look like in the post-war era?
- What were some effects of the Cold War?
- What was the U.S.' involvement in the Korean War?
- How did McCarthyism and the Red Scare impact American society?
- How did Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon deal with the Cold War?
- What caused the Vietnam War?

1. Post-War American Politics: Foreign & Domestic Policy
Post-war American politics presented new challenges for the future of America in the areas of foreign and domestic policy. Study the different policies post World War II surrounding communism, social rights and infrastructural changes.

2. Post-War American Life: Culture of the late 1940s & 1950s
Following World War II, America experienced a 'boom' of optimism amidst geopolitical anxiety. Discover the culture of the US in the late 1940's and 1950s through the growth of family-life suburbia, the Red Scare, and artistic developments in pop-culture.

3. The Counter-Culture of Post-War America
After World War II ended, the United States experienced a counter-culture to protest the nation's socially conservative mainstream culture. Explore the counter-culture of post-war America, including the Beat Generation, 'Beatniks,' and other counter-culture groups, including homosexuals. Learn about the Red Scare, communism, civil rights, and liberated attitudes towards sexuality.

4. The Cold War: Definition, Causes & Early Events
Learn the definition of the Cold War. Identify the genesis of the Cold War and understand the role of Truman, the policy of containment, and other early Cold War events.

5. United States Involvement in the Korean War: Causes and Effects
Learn about the Korean War, its causes, and the United States' involvement. Identify the Korean War's commencement, and understand its shifts, the role of China in the war, and the forging of an armistice.

6. McCarthyism and the Red Scare: Definition, Causes & Effects
Sen. Joseph McCarthy's post-World War II campaign to expose communists in America, dubbed McCarthyism, sparked a general public fear called the Red Scare. Learn more about McCarthyism and the Red Scare, including the causes and effects of it, and the rise and fall of McCarthy and McCarthyism.

7. The Cold War in America: Effects on Everyday Life
The Cold War was a period marked by fear of communism and nuclear attacks in America. Explore how President Truman's Loyalty Program, J. Edgar Hoover's investigations, and the threat of nuclear attacks instilled fear into the everyday lives of Americans.

8. Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Cold War
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the president of the United States from 1953 - 1961, when the Cold War was taking place. Discover the policies and programs he created to combat communist expansion, such as the New Look policy and containment, and the domestic policies under his regime.

9. The Election of 1960: Kennedy vs. Nixon
The election of 1960 served as the venue for the first-ever presidential debates. Understand the candidates pitted against each other--John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon--the issues discussed, and the ensuing outcome of the elections.

10. John F. Kennedy and the Cold War
John F. Kennedy attempted a lot with both domestic and foreign policy, yet failed in his short presidency. Learn how John F. Kennedy's Cold War legacy was shaped by foreign relations and his attempt to defeat communism by spending.

11. The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was a melancholic day that forever altered the course of American history. Learn about the events of November 22, 1963, the aftermath, and how the assassination was investigated.

12. The Vietnam War: Causes, Conflicts & Effects
The Vietnam War was a proxy war, or one in which third parties fought on the instigators' behalves, that proved disastrous for the United States. Learn the causes, conflicts, and effects of the Vietnam War by exploring the prelude to America's participation including how Eisenhower's choices factored into the start of the war, the influences of Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon on the war, and the Tet Offensive.

13. Domestic Responses to the War in Vietnam
In contrast to American patriotic support during WWII, the Vietnam War sparked a domestic response of protests and draft dodging that reached it's height in the 60s and 70s. Discover the ways this era was marked by the emergence of 'hippies', opposition to the draft, the tragedy of the Kent State massacre, and how this unpopular war impacted the civil rights movement.

14. The Election of President Nixon
The election of President Nixon in 1968 happened alongside various political events, mainly the Vietnam War. Learn more about Richard Nixon, his candidacy in the 1960 election, and his victory in the 1968 election.

15. What Was the 26th Amendment?
The 26th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution allowed its citizens to vote at a minimum age of 18, rather than 21. Learn some background information regarding the 26th Amendment, setting the stage for the amendment, the adoption, ratification, and the effects of the amendment.

16. President Nixon and the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War between South Vietnam and the United States against North Vietnam involved the administrations of five presidents between the mid-1950s and mid-1970s. Review the origins of the conflict during the Eisenhower presidency, escalations of the war by Johnson and also by Nixon, who later tried but was unable to end it before being forced to resign in 1974.
Earning College Credit
Did you know… We have over 220 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Middle School US History: Help and Review course
- First Contacts in the Americas: Help and Review
- Settling North America & the Colonies: Help and Review
- The Revolutionary War: Help and Review
- The Making of a Nation after the American Revolution: Help and Review
- Virginia Dynasty: Help and Review
- The Jacksonian Democracy: Help and Review
- Everyday Life in Antebellum America: Help and Review
- Manifest Destiny & American Expansion: Help and Review
- Buildup to the American Civil War: Help and Review
- The American Civil War: Help and Review
- After the Civil War - Reconstruction: Help and Review
- American Industrialization of the Late 19th Century: Help and Review
- The Progressive Era of the Early 20th Century: Help and Review
- American Imperialism & World War l: Help and Review
- 1920s America: Help and Review
- America and the Great Depression: Help and Review
- America and the Second World War: Help and Review
- Civil Rights Movements in America: Help and Review
- America in the 1970s: Help and Review
- America in the 1980s: Help and Review
- America from 1992 to the Present: Help and Review
- Civil Rights in the U.S.
- The Relationship Between Humans and the Environment